The cut-off for the 42-question prelims, at Indore, was 13.5. So anybody who got above 6 has a fair chance of making it to the finals. If you got about 9, you’re definitely through!

Some general trivia about the making of the Prelims.

a) The number of questions is 42 for obvious reasons – H2G2. In fact, all my quizzes have 42 questions in the prelims, except for the one at Spring Spree 2002. It was 21 questions then, and that because the Quiz was dedicated to the Souvenir & Bulletin Committee, and they believed in “Half The Truth and nothing But Half the Truth.”

b) Generally, it feels nice to have a theme-based question-paper. In the resident RECW ladies quiz, ( it was named Mascara:The Ladies’ Quiz and right now, I believe it is called The Udatta B Duarah Memorial Quiz ), the answers to all the questions were, you guessed it, women. and there were some fundoo quizzes I have been to where Question 1 has some relation to Question 2, 2 is related to 3 in some other way and so on.

So what happened was, I wanted to do something like that. Some kind of an in-joke, that not many people would get. And because there was a Saint question that I wanted to ask, and I remembered madhavn‘s ex-user pic, the first thing that popped into my mind was, LJ user icons. Ten of the forty-two questions ( eight of twenty-two) were based on my LJ friends’ user-icons. Thanks, people. ( yes, it did get a little weird, so I gave up after 10 )

c) Some beings that helped me with the making of the Quiz. psasidhar, for his invaluable posts and research, especially Classical Music. 2fargon, who graciously offered me part of his website to put up the visuals, in case there was some SNAFU. Udatta da, for certain visual questions, that led me to find out more detailed Qs. And heartfelt thanks to the Dark Gift and its Creators – Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page. Thank you, gentlemen, for making 10 to the power 100 mean so much in the Trivial World.

1. This artist was much influenced by Moorish art during the early part of his life. His brother Berend, a professor of geology, recognised the connection between his brother’s woodcuts and crystallography, and encouraged him to read mathematician Polya’s paper on plane symmetry. The latter body of this artist’s work (woodcuts, paintings, sketches) is a deep study of symmetry and perspective, his extensive research and investigation culminating in 1941 with his first notebook Regular Division of the plane with Asymmetric congruent Polygons, and establishing him as one of the finest research mathematicians of his age. Which artist? MC Escher. 2fargon‘s icon.

2. This character, in a book by William Steig, was kicked out by his parents from “the black hole in which he’d been hatched,” because he was “giving off his awful fumes”. He sets out to do “his share of damage.” Steig writes, “It delighted him to see the flowers bend aside and the trees lean away to let him go by.” Along the way, in exchange for a few of his “rare lice,” a witch tells his fortune:
‘Otchky-potchky, itchky-pitch
Pay attention to this witch.
A ____ takes you to a knight–
Him you conquer in a fight.
Then you wed a princess who
Is even uglier than you.
Ha ha ha and cockadoodle,
the magic words are “Apple Strudel.”‘
Steig’s movie was massacred..er….adapted into a movie of the same name ( as that of the character and the book) . Identify the character. Shrek. Universally cracked. The second line is “A donkey takes you to a kinght.” birdonthewire‘s icon.

3.In X’s initial years, the FBI maintained a dossier of anti-American activities X was indulging in. Charges included an illegal use of the US flag, filed by the American Federation of Police, attempting to counterfeit US banknotes, misuse of J Edgar Hoover’s name. It was sued by composer Irving Berlin, and later by a General who claimed that it was Communist propaganda, “X is a diabolical form of Red Propaganda used to infiltrate the minds of our Teenagers to destroy the American way of life,” wrote Greater Knoxville Youth for Christ. Members of the CCECB deemed it “objectionable” after it failed no fewer than eight of their tests for wholesomeness. What is X? Mad Magazine. bobben, I still can’t get used to Alfie sticking his tongue out at me every morning.

4.Why are the Pink Panther movies starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Closeau called so? A diamond that is supposedly flawed in a way that forms the image of a pink panther. contentedbloke, contentedly playing a saxophone.

5.Short(definitely!), Simple ( maybe not..) :- Who is directing the next Harry Potter movie – The Prisoner of Azkaban? Alfonso Cuaron. Not many people got this. Whither Happy Potter fans? harish_an‘s icon.

6.Fill in the gap:-
The wonderful thing about ____,
Is ____ are wonderful things.
Their tops are made out of rubber,
Their bottoms are made out of springs.
They’re bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy,
Fun, fun, fun, fun, FUN!
But the most wonderful thing about ____ is…
I’m the only one.
Tiggers!!! cool user-pic, jessyleen!

7. The Oxford English Dictionary in 2001 defined this word as: “expressing frustration at the realizations that things have turned out badly…”. The word was originally called “annoyed grunt” in the context in which it was used. Which word?
Homer Simpson’s famous “D’oh”. Kinda inspired by itsjoy :)

8.Perry Farrell, singer for the band Jane’s Addiction conceived this in 1990 as a farewell tour for his band. The word itself is slang for “something outstanding of its kind”, which Farrell heard in a Three Stooges short film and liked the sound of. It however ran annually for 7 years, with the inclusion of non-musical features -performers like the Jim Rose Circus, an alternative freak show, or the Shaolin Monks – stretching the boundaries of traditional rock culture. What ? The Lollapalooza festival.

9.He played the role of psychopathic gangster Harry Rout opposite Marisa Tomei in a Broadway Production called Wait Until Dark, produced and made a guest appearance in Julia Sweeney’s God Said Ha!. Acted as a blind preacher in the Sandler comedy Little NIcky. Was producer for the US rerelease of Yuen Wo Ping’s Iron Monkey. Plays the role of guest villain McKenas Cole in two episodes of ABC’s Alias. Who? God-in-Waiting. Otherwise known as Quentin Tarantino.

10.Which screen villain claims to be a nephew of Mogambo, he wears a long flowing cloak which he affectionately calls his Ghaghra, and his oft-repeated line ( translated) is:- I will take your eyeballs out and play marbles with them? Universally cracked again. Crime Master Gogo, from Andaaz Apna Apna.

11.Between 1782 and 1785, Mozart composed a series of six string quartets which he dedicated to a composer, a friend of his, whose music had had a profound influence on him. Upon playing through some of them together, this composer said to Mozart’s father, who was present, “Before God and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer I know, either personally or by name.” Those quartets came to be known after the composer’s name. Who ? Joseph Haydn. The Haydn quartets have been highly recommended by psasidhar. (this funda was unearthed by him)

12. H Rider Haggard wrote a series of novels that featured “She”. She: A History of Adventure, _____: The Return of She (1905), She and Allan (1921), and Wisdom’s Daughter (1923). Who is “She”?
She is Ayesha.

13. What was artist Basil Hallward’s most famous work? The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

14. CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters is a series of letters from a devil named Screwtape to his nephew, X, who is an apprentice devil. The first letter reads:-…but the best of all is to let him read no science but to give him a grand general idea that he knows it all and that everything he happens to have picked up in casual talk and reading is “the results of modern investigation.” Do remember you are there to fuddle him. From the way some of you young fiends talk, anyone would suppose it was our job to teach! Which contemporary character is inspired by X ? Ms Wormwood from Calvin and Hobbes. karthik‘s cool animated icon.

15. The three forms of the Egyptian artform Ra’s Shar’i are Sh’abi (of rural origins), Shar’i (courtly origins), and Baladi (contemporary and bearing somewhat Western influences). How do we know Ra’s Shar’i as? Belly Dancing.

16. He has appeared in a total of 19 full-length novels, 48 novelettes or novellas, and 95 short stories. 13 films have been made on this fictional character, with the following actors essaying his role – Louis Hayward(1938,1953), George Sanders(1939), Hugh Sinclair (1940,1953) Roger Moore (1968, 2 movies), Ian Ogilvy (1980), the latest being Val Kilmer (1997). Also three French films, starring Felix Martin(1960) and Jean Marais (1966). The creator played him in a Life photofeature. Which character? Aah. The one that started it all. Simon Templar, The Saint. Thanks, madhavn.

17. This guy’s first show was titled Moondog’s Rock n’ Roll Party, the success of which led to live concerts like Moondog’s Coronation Ball. He went on to act in movies like Don’t Knock The Rock, Rock Around The Clock, and Rock, Rock, Rock. Who? DJ Alan Freed. The guy who popularised rock in the 1950’s and was later implicated in the Payola scandal.

18. His real name, in Hebrew means “All that is God”. His birth and arrival (according to theorists) is reminiscent of how baby Moses survived Pharaoh’s decree to kill all Jewish newborn sons. In the context of the 1930s, the story also reflects the saga of the Kindertransports–the evacuation to safety of hundreds of Jewish children, without their parents, from Austria, Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia to Great Britain. Of course, he was created by two Jewish boys. Who?
Superman, of course. “Kal-el” being the Hebrew name.

19. The actor who portrayed this character from a TV series was responsible for the character’s name. After trying out several accents for the part the production people told him they liked his Scotish accent best. Once he knew this he told the production personal that the Scotish made excellent engineers and proceeded to name the character Montgomery ____, and it stuck. Which character?
Montgomery Scott. Scotty of “beam me up, Scotty” fame. ;-)

20. The only categories in which this artiste won Grammies in his lifetime was in the religious categories: How Great Thou Art (Best Sacred Performance, 1967, and Best Inspirational Performance, 1974 ) and He Touched Me(Best Inspirational Performance, 1972). Who? Elvis Presley, believe it or not.

21.Connect the following movies: – Aspi’s Garam Masala, Mehmood’s Kunwaara Baap, Basu Chatterjee’s Chhoti Si Baat, Khatta Meetha, Asrani’s Chala Murari Hero Banne, Krishna Shah’s Cinema Cinema, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Golmaal, S K Puri’s Ahsaas, Sai Paranjype’s Chashme Buddoor, Rakesh Kumar’s Commander, Tanuja Durai’s Pet Pyar Aur Paap, Pankaj Parashar’s Jalwa, Ketan Mehta’s Hero Hiralal, T Rama Rao’s Dosti Dushmani, Jagdeep’s Soorma Bhopali, Shashilal Nair’s Kroadh, Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ghatak, David Dhawan’s Biwi No 1 and Arjun Sajnani’s Agni Varsha.
Very simple – All these films had cameo roles by Amitabh Bachhan.

22.Possibly the longest question of the quiz:-
He’s supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody ever believed he was real. Nobody ever knew him or saw anybody that ever worked directly for him. You never knew; that was his power. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.
One story the guys told me, the story I believe, was from his days in Turkey. There was a gang of Hungarians that wanted their own mob. They realized that to be in power, you didn’t need guns or money or even numbers. You just needed the will to do what the other guy wouldn’t. After a while, they come into power and then they come after him. X was small-time then, just running dope, they say.
They come to his home in the afternoon, looking for his business. They find his wife and kids in the house and decide to wait for him. He comes home to find his wife raped and children screaming. The Hungarians knew X was tough, not to be trifled with, so they let him know they meant business.
They tell him they want his territory, all his business. X looks over the faces of his family. Then he showed these men of will what will really was.
He tells him he would rather see his family dead than live another day after this. He lets the last Hungarian go, waits until his wife and kids are in the ground, and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids. He kills their wives. He kills their parents and their parents’ friends. He burns down the houses they live in, the stores they work in. He kills people that owe them money. And like that, he’s gone. Underground. Nobody’s ever seen him since. He becomes a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. “Rat on your pop and X will get you.” But no one ever really believes…..”
A famous movie. A famous character. A question that’s being answered. Funda, please.
From the script of The Usual Suspects:

Read the above.

The other two user-pics I used were that of thepopa, which I used for an Ed Wood visual connect, and a Tintin visual ( vijucat.

Ah. That was fun!